Artificial Intelligence Page 5

  He smiled. “I haven’t showered. I wasn’t sure how to use the water. On Sirius B, we used a mist system.”

  “I’m so sorry. I forgot to show you last night, didn’t I? You were so relaxed after your massage it fled my mind.”

  “Thank you for that experience.”

  “There are many more pleasures of the flesh,” she said. She wanted to groan. Did she really just say that?

  “I remember certain pleasures,” he said.

  Whew. A shot of liquid heat blasted through her belly. He was definitely losing the computer-like personality.

  She decided to change the subject. “Remind me. I’ll need to get you another wardrobe. Oh, geez. We’ll need to make the others uniforms also.”

  One hundred and eighty uniforms. That was going to take a tremendous amount of energy. Her poor replicator was going to overheat. It hadn’t been used commercially in a very long time.

  She began to walk back down the hallway to return to her cabin where he followed. They headed directly into the small bathroom, where she showed him how to adjust the spray.

  “Water is recycled, neutralizing soap and scum. You can technically shower until you’re wrinkled, because you’re using your own shower water. Each room is equipped with its own amount, and only replenishes upon evaporation. The sink pulls from the wall like this.” She demonstrated. “So you can brush your teeth or wash your hands.” She pulled an extra toothbrush from the small cabinet. “Anything else?”

  “I just stand in the spray?” His voice was muffled as his shirt came off.

  Her mouth dropped. He didn’t notice, instead choosing to strip the bottom half of his uniform off. Distracted, she watched for a minute before coming to her senses.

  “I should probably mention that humanoids don’t remove their clothing in front of each other.”

  His brow wrinkled. “You’ve already seen everything I have to offer, Arian.”

  “I know.” She was so going to regret her next move, but hell with it. How could she not regret it? He turned her on like nobody’s business and she’d be unfulfilled afterward. “Would you like me to show you how to shower?” Stars, she felt like a naughty schoolteacher.

  His eyes stared intently into hers. “I would.”

  She took a deep breath, and then released the seams of her own uniform. It slid down her body easily. Her nipples hardened instantly, and she told herself it was the change in temperature.

  Jax stared at her form, transfixed. She had the same effect on him as he did on her, but what did she expect? He had a plethora of emotions bottled up. She turned and stepped into the spray.

  “The water is released from the walls. It adjusts according to your height or movement. I could switch to this end of the shower, and the spray follows me. I could verbally override by telling the computer to switch the spray to my feet. If I didn’t want to get my hair wet, I might adjust the spray for chest level.”

  When she was thoroughly wet, she held out her hand for him.

  She ignored the erection that rose right before her eyes. He was long and thick, and didn’t seem to care that he was hard as a rock.

  He placed his hand in hers and stepped into the water with her. He groaned when the heat of the spray hit him.

  “Pretty awesome, isn’t it?”

  “Very.”

  “Once you’re wet, there’s this dial.” She turned a dial and the water stopped. Creamy lather shot over their bodies, sluicing down the water rivulets on their skin. His eyes were glued to her nipples which poked through the suds. He stared curiously. How could he not be?

  “Then you wash yourself like this.” She rubbed the slick lather into his chest, smearing it over his nipples, feeling them stiffen beneath her fingers. His heart raced and his breathing began to increase.

  “Do you want me to continue?”

  “God, yes.”

  She moved to his sides and he raised his arms. She smeared the lather up, scrubbing lightly with her fingernails, all the way up his armpits, and then she pressed in close to reach his biceps. Her breasts smashed against his chest. That was so deliberate, she almost shook herself.

  He groaned.

  “Sorry,” she said. “I shouldn’t have leaned in.”

  “Don’t be, Arian. I need you. You have no idea.” His voice was raw.

  Her heart raced with his words. “This is probably a bad idea. You’re so new. You can’t possibly control your emotions.” But she didn’t step away.

  His hands slowly reached around her, and massaged the lather into her back, her shoulders, and down to her waist. He cupped the curve of her buttocks, bringing her in perfect alignment with him. His cock pressed into the softness of her belly. She trailed her hand across his chest, down his abs, and wrapped it around his erection. Using the suds as lubricant, she pumped her hand slowly, up and down.

  “You’re magnificent,” she murmured. She continued to wash him, letting her hand wander lower to test the weight of his balls.

  “I can’t decide if this is sheer heaven, or utter torture.” His voice was raspy.

  “I can stop.”

  “Perhaps that would be the torture.”

  “Arian? I’m sorry to interrupt, but you have a call from Tian.” Tess’s voice was loud in the small bathroom.

  Arian winced. “Tell him to hold on and I’ll be right there.” It was a mood douser for sure.

  She stepped back from Jax, and flipped her switch to spray. Quickly she rinsed her soap off, and stepped out of the shower to dry off.

  “Feel free to take as long as you need,” she said over her shoulder. “I’ll just be a moment.”

  She wasn’t even sure what she meant by that. Take as long as he needed to fulfill his own needs? Or take as long as he needed until she returned? Should she return? She pulled her uniform on, and hurried quickly to the main hull where she could have privacy.

  Instead of taking Tian’s call over the main viewing screen, Arian pulled the connection up on the small viewing pad of her captain’s chair. Her heart raced. He knew not to make contact, it could be dangerous. Hell, she’d sent them the message that she’d retrieved the cargo for them and was on her way. Something else must be wrong.

  She worried until his image appeared on the small screen extended from the arm of her chair.

  “Are you all right, my son?”

  “I am fine, mother. I miss you dreadfully and wanted to make sure it is you who is all right.”

  She released the breath she’d been holding on to. This is her second son, and he was much more sensitive than Orion. There was no need to worry. “I am fine. I’ve had an interesting experience that I’ll explain when I return with the cargo.”

  “It is much needed. It will be good to have the mestascia.”

  “I have that in spades. Not the small amount we planned on, but an entire pallet. We can replicate the original with the modifications you and Orion did to the replicator on board the ship, and have as much as we need without compromising the material’s strength. We’ll be fine, Tian. We spoke about this, remember?”

  His beautiful gray face nodded. His features were humanoid like a Terran, but his eyes were larger and solid black, more like those of a Zetan.

  “I don’t doubt our calculations. Orion is a whiz with that. I just had a strange feeling that you were being traced, and I wanted to see you for myself. Not listen to a cryptic message through Tess.”

  “Sweetheart,” her voice softened. “You know it’s necessary to send encrypted messages. What if security had been breached?”

  “That’s why I’m calling. Tess isn’t normal and I wanted to see you for myself. In real time.”

  Of course. Her sons had programmed Tess and on their end, they would see her personality changing. Evolving.

  “I’m afraid that’s my fault.”

  Arian almost jumped through the roof at the rich depth of Jax’s voice behind her. She had no idea he’d followed her so silently.

  And that her secret
was exposed.

  Tian instantly went into Zeta mode. His face grew harsh as his skin darkened into a deeper gray. His teeth lengthened and his eyes narrowed into slits. “Who are you?” he hissed.

  Jax tilted his head slightly off-kilter, as if he accessed that robotic brain of his. “My name is Jax. Your…mother has rescued my people.”

  It was the perfect thing to say. Tian’s handsome face began to calm, and then he broke into a smile.

  “Now that sounds plausible. Why didn’t you tell me, Arian?” Tian asked.

  She had no answer. She could hardly explain she was tricked into helping the Artificial Intelligence. That if she didn’t play her cards right, she’d be a captive on her own ship and had wanted to keep her people safe and unobtainable.

  “Because we all agreed that encryption was best,” she reminded him, her voice a little more stern than usual.

  “I am sorry. Orion agrees with you, but I worry more.” Tian was her more sensitive son. Her baby. “So what is wrong with Tess?”

  Her computer answered. “Nothing is wrong with me, master. I simply have chosen to evolve a bit more.”

  Tian’s black eyebrow rose. “See what I mean? Chosen?”

  Arian couldn’t help but snicker. Even Jax looked surprised.

  “I don’t see what you mean, son. You were the one to program her to call you master.”

  “Not that,” he growled at her teasing. “The statement, mother.”

  “That really is my fault,” Jax said. “Tess is programmed for learning. It’s an advancement I haven’t seen in centuries, in fact, I thought the technique died out with my race. I am of a collective unit called Artificial Intelligence. We inserted our consciousness into a computer and waited for a ship to rescue us. Right now, Tess carries the consciousness of the rest of my people. With her advanced learning technique, I am afraid she is adapting rather quickly.”

  “There is no need to fear, handsome. I adapt at my own speed and I am fine with where I am at right now.” Tess’s voice was sure, even though she still called Jax the nickname.

  Arian turned to Jax. “One thing Tess has picked up is a bit of Tian’s smart aleck personality. Drives his brother nuts to be referred to as master. I thought Orion was going to kill him when Tian programmed Tess to call them both that.”

  “Arian,” Tian said suddenly. “That reminds me. When you descend into the atmosphere, it is the colder season here.”

  Alarm made her squirm in her chair. “Is everyone all right?”

  “Yes. Do not panic. It is just more difficult. I want you to be prepared. The natives are stronger and more aggressive with the cold weather. That wasn’t something we realized when we first landed here.”

  “I will hurry back with the mestascia.”

  He nodded. “We are fine right now. We spend each day repairing the damage to the walls from the night before. But we must move faster and faster, as we have lost daylight hours with the seasonal change.”

  It probably didn’t help that it was cold. She knew the weather would slow them down, and they weren’t letting her know how deep the situation ran.

  “Can you hold on for a few weeks? Or would you like me to travel faster?”

  “A few weeks should be fine. Orion is searching for a flammable material to ignite around the walls. It will keep the natives at bay and not able to do as much damage.”

  “Please don’t burn yourselves up.”

  He tsked at her human way of thinking. “Already thought of that. Some have dug a moat around the walls. Should the flames grow out of control, they will not be able to spread in our direction.”

  “You can control the flames to keep them low?”

  He nodded. “They do not need to be more than two feet high.”

  The walls were twenty, so that shouldn’t pose a threat. “And if the natives develop flame throwers? A type of sling-shot mechanism?”

  “We have enough snow inside the gates to put out any flame throwers.”

  “Snow?”

  He nodded. “It is more like Terra than we originally thought.”

  “Tell me you are warm enough,” she said.

  Her son smiled. “You worry so. We are fine. Every one of us, even the Protected. I was more worried about you.”

  “Your mother will be fine,” Jax said. “I give you my word. We will guard her. When we reach you, my people will reinforce your walls with the new material.”

  “How many of you are there?” Tian asked.

  “Nearly two hundred.”

  Her son’s jaw dropped. “Two hundred?”

  Arian knew what he was thinking. His mathematic mind was whirring. The walls would be reinforced in no time, at that rate.

  “I also have saplings started,” she said. “Original seeds are in storage. I replicated them once and started the plants. Is the green house ready?”

  “It is.”

  “It will be a good summer.”

  “That it will. I am stunned by this news.”

  “Go find Orion and relay everything to him. That will help it all sink in.”

  Tian nodded, a bit distracted now with all the new information. “It was a pleasure to meet you, Jax. I look forward to your arrival.”

  “I look forward to meeting you as well. In person, that is. Until then, do not worry about your mother. I will keep her safe.”

  Tian nodded once, before he returned his attention to her. “I love you, Arian.”

  “I return the love full-force, my son. Give a kiss to Orion for me.”

  He smiled. “I will. Blessings.”

  She blew him a kiss as the transmission faded.

  “Your son calls you by name?” Jax asked.

  “They both do. They’re not my biological offspring and were not allowed to call me mother in public. Zeta was a strict planet, full of rules. But I was allowed to name them. Orion was my first, and in a rather childlike way, I named him after me. I simple changed the A’s in my name to O’s.”

  “You named this son after you also. Tian’s name is yours with the first two letters converted to a T.”

  “Well, I didn’t grow up much between sons.” She grinned at him.

  “You did not mention that your own sons were currently on another planet.”

  She sighed. “I didn’t know you and there are not a lot of people I trust. I grew up on Zeta, remember? It’s a harsh planet. I didn’t want it held over my head that I had to do as you requested or you would harm my loved ones.”

  “My species would not do that. We were controlled also, remember? We are not likely to do that to another. How many are on the planet?”

  “All of my crew from the ship. So, about a hundred and fifty. Mostly women, but…damaged. A lot were slaves I’d encountered during the vacation tours with this ship.”

  “Your ship was set to return to the planet to bring them supplies?”

  She nodded.

  “We will help you. It is the least we can do. And Arian, you should not have to travel alone anymore.”

  “Thank you. But traveling is something I enjoy. I like to find not just my people, but any other species that have been enslaved by others. This is their only chance at freedom, the idea of joining a brand new planet. It’s a lesson in diversity. As long as we can avoid being attacked by the natives there.”

  “We’ll get it taken care of.”

  Arian smiled noncommittally. Trust was a delicate matter, though she had no choice now that Tian had exposed them all.

  “Let’s grab some breakfast, shall we?” she asked.

  They headed to the same small bar in the main hull of the ship, where Jax sat while she prepared their plates.

  “I thought today I’d navigate the ship through the debris in this galaxy, so we can reach the planet faster,” he said.

  “We can take shifts.”

  “If you’d like.”

  “This is a vegetable that’s grown on Zeta, with a protein source called kasink. Zetans are hunters, and eat a variety of
meat. These are chicken eggs from Terra and a carbohydrate source we call toast. You take a piece of the toast and dip it into your yolk, like this.” She demonstrated for him, and he tried the same, then dropped the piece into his mouth.

  “It is good.”

  “One habit Terrans have never been able to break is their bacon, eggs, toast and potatoes. We adapt other planet’s foods to replace those. Hence the similar vegetable from Zeta, and the kasink. It’s supposed to be pork, the meat called bacon, on my planet.”

  “My planet was diverse. That was a primary reason why so many warred. You would think diversity would have the opposite effect, and they would get along. But the more the groups fought on our planet, the worse hatred spread and they began fighting with another planet in our same solar system. AI were created to become the first line of defense. It was a death sentence for our race.”

  “All your skeletons are similar. Will you all look alike when your bodies are grown?”

  “We are all similar in height and built. But our coloring and features should be different, due to the differences in the DNA we used.”

  “I imagine you look quite different from when you lived before?”

  “Yes. We did so on purpose. They had pigmented our skin tone with a green color to differentiate us from the planet inhabitants. As if they weren’t diverse enough, but they didn’t want an AI confused with a “real” being. Unfortunately, the color chosen was the color of the species of the other planet in our star system. It spawned even more hatred that we were chosen to die and looked like the inhabitants of the other system.”

  “So you’re actually fortunate that you are alive today.”

  His cheeks turned a ruddy color and he grew angry. “I’m fortunate because a leader’s wife took a liking to me. She decided to keep me around for a dual purpose. That of pleasuring her and her friends.”

  Arian’s jaw dropped. “Is that why you still dream of the parties?”

  He nodded. “She was into sex with others. Her parties would last all night as I was bounced from female to female. Drugs were pumped into me to keep the blood flow active and I would remain mechanically erect. However, too many hours and the blood would have to be manually expelled. It was a painful procedure. Afterward, I was sent right out to the war zone whether I could walk or not.”